“I thought he defended better (Tuesday),” Snyder said. “I know he’s going to make some shots. The thing that’s crucial for us is his leadership on the court.”

A night after scoring a team-high 19 points in a 68-60 win against Brown, Gardner posted 18 points in 20 minutes off the bench against Houston.

Fifteen of those points came in the second half, as he scored in spurts of eight and seven points straight.

“In the second half, I really got my head into the game and really stepped it up on defense,” Gardner said. “I feel when I play defense, then my offense will come.”

Gardner also shot better Tuesday, going 4-for-8 from 3-point range. He was 3-for-10 on Monday.

“Whenever he does something on the floor I’m never surprised, I expect something good to happen,” sophomore guard Spencer Laurie said. “He’s been coming off the bench for us and bringing a lot of energy. And when he can come into the game and bring energy like that, it picks everybody up. He’s been knocking down shots. He’s been hitting floaters. He’s really just showed his entire game and what a versatile player he can be.”

The Tigers also shot better Tuesday, finishing 52.2 percent from behind the arc. On Monday, they were 26.9 percent on 3-pointers.